


The Prom

by reqlity



Category: Victorious (TV)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-20
Updated: 2020-07-20
Packaged: 2021-03-05 05:40:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,166
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25399303
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reqlity/pseuds/reqlity
Summary: Jade longs for affection, but not from her boyfriend. She desires it from her redheaded best friend.
Relationships: Cat Valentine/Jade West
Kudos: 51





	The Prom

**Author's Note:**

> hi so this is my first fic on here! i'll definitely be writing more cade fics here in the future. i used to write all the time, but i stopped writing actual stories for a while so i apoligize for any bad or cliche writing as i'm a little out of practice lmao. also i 100% got this idea from dance moms season 8 nationals, which is my favorite group dance of all time. the song featured in this fic is called "it's time to dance" from the musical the prom. anyways enjoy the story.

“One time my brother-”

Jade didn’t mean to ignore Cat’s words, but as rays of light shone down onto the redhead’s face, her tanned skin began to glow and she looked ethereal. Brown eyes had transformed into brilliant pools of honey, so sweet and pure. Cat’s smile as she babbled on about her brother’s fucked up antics had this gorgeous angelic gleam that shone throughout the entire Asphalt Cafe, even more intensely than the sun that caramelized her irises.

Cat had always been a talkative one, and Jade usually clung onto her every word despite what she’d like people to believe. Yet this time Jade couldn’t listen, and the sugary whispers of Cat’s angelic tone fell silent on deaf ears, for the raven-tressed girl was too enraptured in her best friend’s beauty to actually hear a single word uttered from those sweet, strawberry gloss coated lips.

Jade didn’t even realize as her lips curled upwards and her teeth were bared to the world before her boyfriend grabbed her hand, long elegant fingers falling clumsily into rough hands. “What’s got you so smiley babe?” He asked, drinking in the rare sight of Jade’s typically sharp features softening.

Jade needed to cover her tracks, her vulnerability needed concealing, for the moment they found out about how weak Cat’s expressions made her, it was game over. “I was just thinking about this video I saw of this dude accidentally chopping his finger off.”

Cat’s euphoric smile was immediately washed off as she pursed her lips and wrinkled her nose in disgust. “Ew Jadey that’s so gross!”

“Don’t worry, they sewed it back on,” Jade assured before smiling as she trailed into her next sentence, speaking as if she was enraptured by this video instead of the angelic redhead sitting beside her, “There was so much blood.”

“Well there goes my appetite,” Tori muttered as she pushed away the remainder of her fries, the majority of which had been scarfed down previously. 

Jade smirked in satisfaction, she had managed to divert suspicion off of herself AND make Vega’s afternoon a little less enjoyable, which was always a plus. And to think people had the nerve to call Vega the best actress of the school, that girl couldn’t conceal anything. Meanwhile every day of Jade’s life felt like a massive stage production.

The rest of lunch continued without a hitch, as the conversation turned from Cat’s mentally-ill brother to prom, the topic brought up by none other than Tori herself. “So who’s excited for prom on Saturday?”

The teen’s overly obnoxious sing-songy question tone made Jade want to vomit, but she was considerably more excited for prom this year, seeing as it isn’t ruining one of her plays. “I’m just glad the stupid prome thing died last year.” Her words came out harsh and bitter, but her venomous tongue was no shock to anyone in the group.

“Hey calling it a prome was cool!” Tori defended, her facial expression morphing to look hurt.

“It really wasn’t,” Andre sided with Jade. Soon the entire table was muttering words about how dumb it was to say prome instead of prom, and Jade looked around her agreeable audience victoriously.

Randomly, Cat burst out from her chair yelling, “Gotta pee, gotta pee, gotta pee, gotta pee,” as she bolted towards the restrooms. Jade inwardly smiled at the girl’s extreme reactions to the littlest things, making her all the more adorable.

With Cat gone, Robbie found the perfect opportunity to share his plans for prom with the group. “I was thinking about asking Cat to prom,” he nervously announced, smiling towards the table bashfully.

Jade felt her body tense up as she leaned away from Beck’s arm that had been wrapped around her shoulder; she wasn’t even aware of his arm being around her in the first place. There was no way in hell Cat was going to prom with Robbie. The mere concept made Jade feel physically sick. She knew that she had absolutely no right to be so possessive over Cat considering she has a boyfriend of her own, but that didn’t stop her blood from boiling as she squeezed the can of lemonade in her hand. 

“Aww that’s so cute!” Tori gushed, putting a hand to her heart. Of course Vega of all people would be in support of this mismatched couple.

Jade squeezed the can tighter. There was no way this nerd was going to play his hand with Cat again, especially considering the way she ran away from him the last time he kissed her. 

“That’s awesome man,” Beck encouraged.

Great, now Jade’s own boyfriend was advocating for this disaster- POP! The can abruptly burst in Jade’s hands, causing a waterfall of lemonade to explode into the sky before effectively soaking everyone on her side of the table. Before anyone had a chance to react, Jade hurled the can into the ground and stormed away from the table. 

She could hear footsteps chasing behind her, immediately knowing it was Beck. Jade made it into the main hallway of the school, desolate and abandoned, before Beck’s hand landed on her wrist and whipped her around to face him. “What happened back there?” He asked calmly, being accustomed to dealing with Jade’s outburst.

As Jade’s eyes searched Beck’s, she felt like bursting out into tears as a result of the overflow of emotion bubbling inside of her. Jade refused to break down there, despite the only audience member being her boyfriend.

Jade quickly formulated an excuse. “I’ve just had a long day and I’m tired.”

Beck wasn’t convinced, despite Jade’s acting talent, their years spent together has graced Beck with the ability to read the goth girl like a book. “Are you sure this isn’t about prom?”

Jade felt the blood in her veins freeze as she looked at Beck like a deer in the headlights, terrified that she’s been caught. 

Beck pushed on. “I know prom didn’t end too well for you last year, but this year is different. I’ll be here and we can have a good time like we do at any other event at this school together,” Beck reassured. 

Jade could feel the relief flood through her body, allowing her next words to come out convincingly, “Yeah, you’re right.”

The canadian felt pleased with her response, mistaking her relief for him being right about the cause of her stress. He pressed a soft kiss on the top of her head.

Even that subtle gesture felt wrong to the goth. She felt guilty every time he touched her, every time his lips grazed her body. How could she love him when her heart was beating for a certain redhead? How could he touch her when the touch she desired was that of a bubbly kitten? Jade’s brain felt cloudy and she could feel the storm moving in as her thoughts settled in her mind hazily. She suddenly felt exhausted as her legs weakened beneath her. “I’m not feeling well, I think I’m going to head home,” Jade announced. 

“Okay babe, get well soon.” He placed another kiss on her cheek as he let go of her forearm. His lips felt like the caress of a silver spoon on a vampire’s porcelain flesh: charring.

As Jade heaved her body onto her bed immediately upon returning home, the spoon’s burn had engulfed the rest of her body in flames. Opening her phone, Jade found a message from Cat resting at the top of her notifications.

From: Cat  
To: Jade  
Hi Jadeyy! Beck told me you’re sick :((((( I hope you feel better soon! :)))))))) Then we can go get ice cream!!!

Jade could feel the fire inside of her simmer down to a comforting flame, like the feeling of a warm fireplace. Cat’s concern for Jade made the goth’s heart melt as she struggled to type without completely letting down her guard and sounding like an idiot.

From: Jade  
To: Cat  
Thanks. We can go get the ice cream soon babygirl 

Cat responded immediately, and Jade could almost feel the excitement radiating off of Cat through her pear phone’s screen.

From: Cat  
To: Jade  
YAYYYY :DDD

From: Cat  
To: Jade  
I gotta go now! Sikowitz is talking about trampoline theater! BYEEE :)

From: Jade  
To: Cat  
Bye Kitten

Such a short, simple text conversation left Jade’s storm to clear almost immediately, the redhead really had such a tight hold on her at this point. Yet the exhaustion from the wear of the day still remained, and Jade found herself drifting off to sleep quite early, her thoughts plagued with Cat until her brain shut off for the night.

The following day at school started rather tranquil as Jade found herself able to keep her emotions in check. Cat had been overjoyed at the fact Jade was there and no longer sick, and Jade revelled in Cat’s extra affection despite making a show to push her away. The uneventfulness of the day was nice and calming, and Jade didn’t even bully Tori that much.

But of course, all good things must come to an end. Turns out, the school day was just the calm before the storm. Another one.

Cat was talking to Jade at her locker as Jade was getting her things together to leave, Beck at her side throwing his two cents into the conversation at random points.

“Cat Valentine!” A voice called before Robbie appeared on the staircase with his guitar, coming towards her singing some cheesy song about her going to prom with him.

Jade didn’t hear a single lyric. The only thing she heard were her internal thoughts screaming and smashing against her skull. Blood might as well have been dripping out of her eye sockets because all Jade could see was red. Everything was red. Every word around her was muffled as a metallic taste filled her mouth. The goth realized she had bit down on her tongue to the point of drawing blood, yet that she didn’t care.

The demon boiled inside Jade with every word Robbie sang, building itself higher and higher until he sang the last word and it boiled over. Jade’s rationality was gone and jealous, territorial, primitive Jade had taken over.

As Robbie’s song finished and the question had been popped, Jade could no longer control herself. She could no longer keep the demon at bay. “NO!” The sharp word ripped from her throat.

It was Robbie’s turn to be angry. He had spent so much of his time writing that song and it took so much of his courage and building himself up to ask Cat, and Jade had just attempted to destroy it all in one word. “What do you mean no? The question isn’t for you!” 

“There is no way Cat is going to prom with you! She’s out of your league and you know it Shapiro! There’s a reason she ran screaming from you the last time she tried to kiss you, you’re a loser! A desperate, pathetic nerd that has to hide behind a puppet because you’re too afraid to even say what’s on your mind, so you rely on your puppet to make creepy comments about girls!”

As Robbie looked like he was about to cry, Cat spoke up. “You don’t have to be so mean to him! All you are is mean to other people! Robbie I will go to the dance with you!”

With that, Jade shoved Cat out of her way as she took off in a flare of rage, the hallway parting like the red sea to make room for Jade’s departure. The force of Jade’s push had sent the smaller girl hurdling into the ground as the entire student body was left in a state of stupor.

The following Friday, Cat distanced herself from Jade. Not saying good morning to her in the halls, sitting away from her in their shared classes, and basically acting like Jade was invisible. And it absolutely crushed the goth.

Jade was still angry. Angry at Robbie for asking Cat to prom. Angry at Cat for saying yes. But that paled in comparison to the fury she felt at herself for allowing her demons to take control and hurt Cat. How could she hurt a girl so sweet and kind? Cat was the one who always calmed Jade’s overflow of emotion and made her days so much brighter, yet Jade had hurt her.

No one dared to bring up the blow up yesterday, and the group acted as if nothing had happened, but the tension was undeniable.

Jade blew up at every little thing anyone did that day. If someone looked at her, she shot back a murderous glare of knives. If someone got in her way, they were shoved halfway across the hallway. If someone said something she didn’t like, they were threatened with the scissors Jade kept in her hands. The scissors Cat got her for Christmas.

The day crept by painfully slowly, dragging on like a slow-burning cigarette as Jade felt her lungs constantly consumed with a thick, black smoke. Cat was usually a ray of light shining through the clouds, but now Jade had lost her sunshine and her mood was a permanent overcast.

By the time Saturday rolled around, Jade was less than interested in attending prom. All she wanted to do was hide under the covers of her bed like a little kid and cry, but that wasn’t a Jade West thing to do. That was a thing for weak girls, and if there’s one word that least describes Jade West, it’s weak.

In order to bounce back from her meltdown two days ago, Jade had to look gorgeous. Looking anything less than perfect wasn’t an option, so Jade curled her hair with precision. She applied her makeup carefully, her liner forming itself into a perfect wing and her deep red lipstick providing for a flawless sharp contrast against her pale skin.

She finally slipped into her dress, pulling the lacy sleeves over her arms and adjusting her breasts in the lace top section of the dress. Putting on her necklace with a silver hoop that matched Beck’s and her black stiletto heels, she took a deep breath before finally looking at herself in the mirror. Damn she looked incredible, if only she felt as good as she looked. Her makeup was faultless, and the deep cut of her dress showed off just the right amount of cleavage. Jade heard the doorbell ring as she admired herself in the mirror, immediately knowing it was Beck.

Jade raced down the stairs to enter the door before her dad could. As she opened the door, the look on Beck’s face said it all. “Wow. You look just- wow. You’re so beautiful.”

“I know. You look pretty damn good yourself. Now lets go pretty boy.” Jade found it surprisingly easy to mask her underlying hurt as she stepped outside with Beck to see that he, of course, had rented a limo.

When Hollywood Art’s power couple arrived at the scene, everyone seemed to stop what they were doing in order to get a glance at the two. Meanwhile Jade just felt underwhelmed as she escorted Beck to the snack table to get a drink.

Jade kept her eye near the entrance area, which had been lamely decorated with a balloon arch. The goth beauty was looking for one specific person’s arrival. 

Hours and hours seemed to drag by, when in reality it was only minutes, but it all seemed worth it when the person in question did arrive. Jade’s jaw nearly dropped to the floor. She looked like a literal princess. Her hair was done in a half up-half down style, red curls landing on a strapless pink dress. The top part was made of some sleek material, but then the bottom flared out with layers and layers of tulle basically drenched in sparkles and rose petals. With makeup done to perfection and gorgeous eyelashes rapidly moving up and down as those honey eyes excitedly roamed the asphalt cafe, Jade was about ready to die. 

Then Robbie showed up at her side and the euphoria of Jade seeing her princess washed straight down the drain while she remembered Cat wasn’t actually hers. As the night went on and Jade watched Cat and Robbie laugh and dance together, Jade got more and more heated as she desperately tried to keep the devil inside of her from breaking free.

As patient as Beck had tried to be with her the past week, his patience was wearing thin as Jade just got more and more sour for seemingly no reason at all. He noticed her constantly looking at Cat, almost longingly. As some slow dance song came on and Jade watched Cat and Robbie dance together, she felt like vomiting her guts out as her insides turned to mush, finally allowing the devil inside of her to break free, picking up the glass bowl of punch and slamming it into the asphalt. The sound of glass shattering directed everyone’s attention towards Jade as the world seemed to stop spinning and Beck finally lost his cool.

“Okay what is the matter with you! You’ve been acting like a complete maniac all week!” Beck snapped, frantically waving his arms in the air expressively.

Jade was taken aback by his sudden outburst, he was always the calm and collected one in their relationship. She was so flabbergasted that she couldn’t even form a proper response, just choking out, “I-I-” before Beck continued.

“You’ve been acting like this all week, ever since Robbie mentioned going to prom with Cat-” Beck’s eyes widened as he put two and two together, “You’re in love with Cat, aren’t you!? You don’t love me, you love her!”

Everyone gasped. Everything felt like it was in slow motion as Jade looked around the surprised faces of student’s, once again searching for one in particular. Cat’s. When her eyes located the redhead, Cat looked just as stunned as everyone else was and Jade could feel the embarrassment screaming in her blood. She felt like she couldn’t breathe as the air escaped her lungs. In a mindless daze, Jade ripped off her necklace and ran into the parking lot. No one dared follow after her, no one except for Cat.

The moment Cat saw the pain on Jade’s face, any remaining fury or fear left inside Cat evaporated, and she didn’t even think before her legs just took her running after Jade. A billion thoughts crowded their way into Cat’s head as she searched for the goth beauty in the parking lot, the biggest one being that Jade might actually like her back.

Once away from the loud music and students murmuring, Cat could hear quiet sobs as she found Jade sitting on a bench on the far end of the parking lot, liquified emotion falling from icy eyes in crystalized drops. As Cat sat down next to the goth, Jade picked her head up to find herself staring into honeyed eyes.

Even while in tears, Jade was still the most gorgeous person Cat had ever seen. Red-rimmed eyes sparkled as a layer of gloss covered the stormy irises. Her lips were swollen from weeping yet still looked so kissable, and diluted streaks of dark makeup that had descended down her face still didn’t take away from the rosiness of her cheeks. Her face looked like it was handcrafted by da Vinci himself.

“Is it true?” Cat asked, her voice coming out as a frail whisper, for she was too enamoured by Jade’s intense beauty to make her words come out any stronger.

“Yes. I’m so sorry for pushing you and how I acted. I know I shouldn’t have let my emotions get the best of me but they always do. I’m just such a fuck up, I ruin everything. I ruined our friendship, I ruined my relationship, I ruined prom- I just can’t help but ruin everything I touch. And I know you’ll probably never want to talk to be again after this because it’ll be too awkward- god how did I manage to let some little feelings get this out of hand and fuck up everything-”

Jade’s panicked rambles were cut off by a pair of soft lips against hers. After a moment’s hesitation, Jade’s lips began to dance with Cat’s in perfect synchronization as the entire world began to melt away and it was just the two of them, completely soundless. 

Jade could feel all of the pent up rage and despair from years of longing burning away into ashes in just that one moment. She could taste that strawberry lip gloss as her heart beated faster and faster, their mouths becoming one as they writhed against each other. 

Cat quickly discovered Jade’s kissing expertise as her wizard-like tongue slipped its way past Cat’s teeth and elegant, slender fingers became entangled within red-tresses. Cat felt like her entire life had been leading up to this moment, oh how she desperately tried and tried to find something to compare this feeling to, but nothing could. Butterflies were too cliche, roller coasters were too stomach churning, hell Cat couldn’t remember feeling this good at any point in her life. It was as if Jade’s lips were a drug with a side effect of euphoria.

Neither knew who pulled away first, but when it was over, it was Cat that spoke. “I’ve been in love with you too silly!” She giggled, taking Jade’s pale hand into her own and interlacing their fingers gracefully.

“Then why did you say yes to Robbie?” Jade questioned in confusion.

“I just felt really bad because you were so mean to him,” Cat answered. Jade nodded, wiping her tears away as she processed everything.

They shared a moment of silence before Cat spoke up again. “C’mon Jadey let’s go back in! Prom isn’t over yet, we can still have fun together!” Cat bubbled. 

And with that smile on Cat’s face, the one so bright that it could melt all of the ice caps in seconds, Jade couldn’t say no as she smiled back and led Cat back towards that god awful balloon arch.

As the girls entered, hand in hand, looking like the happiest people in the world, everyone stared at them.

“I just wanna dance with you  
Let the whole world melt away  
And dance with you”

As the song started playing, Cat and Jade took center stage. Cat’s arms seemed to naturally land on Jade’s shoulders, as natural as Jade’s hands falling to Cat’s waist. Despite everyone’s stares, they felt like the only people on earth as their bodies swayed side to side, consumed by the music.

“Who cares what other people say  
And when we're through  
No one can convince us we were wrong  
All it takes you and me  
And a song”

Stars became silver sparkles on a painted sky, shining for them and for them only as the world transformed into their own personal wonderland. More couples joined them on the dance floor, but neither Cat nor Jade took any notice, for their hearts were beating as one and something finally felt right.

Jade had never felt so at ease as she melted into Cat, the space between them nonexistent. The moment felt more than magical, it was straight mesmerizing. Jade felt drunk despite not having anything alcoholic to drink. With Jade naturally taking the lead, Cat and Jade’s dancing became more advanced as Jade spun Cat, the twirling of the tulle intoxicating as her sweet smile sent sparks of electricity flowing through Jade’s arteries.

“It's time to  
Build a prom for everyone  
Show them all it can be done  
If music blares and no one cares  
Who your unruly heart loves”

Cat giggled as she spun Jade, the sound landing like heaven in Jade’s ears, and she was pretty sure she held an angel in her arms.

“But 'til that day comes  
I say cue the drums  
And take to the floor  
That's what the floor's for  
So turn up the bass  
Until the whole place  
Gets into the beat  
And has to repeat  
It's time to dance”

Jade finally figured out what she was feeling as she danced with the girl she dreamed of dancing with for so long.

“I just want to dance with you  
It's time to dance  
I just want to dance with you  
It's time to dance  
Dance  
Dance”

She felt complete.

“It’s time to dance!”

Cat gasped as Jade dipped her down and then brought her back up into a tender, loving kiss. As confetti cannons burst and rainbow shreds cascaded all around them like a shower of pure bliss, landing in their hair so gracefully, Jade didn’t care about anything else. Who cared if their friends accepted them, who cared about anyone’s opinions? The only thing that mattered was the girl with the honey eyes attached to Jade’s lips.

The perfect prom.


End file.
